US bars Palestinian leader Abbas from UN as allies pledge statehood
The US is denying and revoking visas for Palestinian officials despite a UN ‘headquarters agreement’ requiring access for diplomats
The United States said on Friday it will not allow Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to travel to New York next month for a United Nations gathering of world leaders, where several US allies are set to recognise Palestine as a state.
A US State Department official said Abbas and about 80 other Palestinians would be affected by the decision to deny and revoke visas from members of the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organisation and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority.
Abbas had been planning to travel to New York for the annual high-level UN General Assembly at UN headquarters in Manhattan. He was also set to attend a summit there – hosted by France and Saudi Arabia – where Britain, France, Australia and Canada have pledged to formally recognise a Palestinian state.
Abbas’ office said it was astonished by the visa decision and argued that it violated the UN “headquarters agreement”.
Under a 1947 UN “headquarters agreement”, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York. Washington, however, has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.
The State Department justified its decision on Friday by reiterating long-standing US and Israeli allegations that the PA and PLO had failed to repudiate extremism while pushing for “unilateral recognition” of a Palestinian state.